The 31 SCARIEST Halloween Horror Movies Pt.1

The 31 SCARIEST Halloween Horror Movies Pt.1

There’s something about the autumn wind that I’ve always found particularly menacing. On the surface, the season serves as a visual cornucopia of beauty. Leaves fall, change color, and crunch beneath our feet as we walk upon them. But underneath it’s a season of transition, a season of death. Autumn, for me, has always meant one thing: Halloween. Images of gravestones, of skulls displayed in windowsills, and lit jack-o-lanterns grinning menacingly from porch steps. It’s a season of scaring, to be scared and to scare others. What better way is there than with a good old-fashioned scary movie? Below is a challenge for those of you brave enough to accept: my list of the 31 SCARIEST Halloween Horror films to watch this October. One film for every day of the month.

Should you possess the fortitude required to complete this horror gauntlet, I promise by Halloween you’ll be so terrified that you’ll sleep with the lights on until Christmas. In the words of the great R.L. Stine, “viewers beware, you’re in for a scare…”

31. The Haunting (1999)

Movie poster via IMDb

Who doesn’t love a good ghost story? The Haunting tells the tale of Eleanor Vance, an insomniac and caregiver for her invalid mother. After being forced from her home, “Nell” receives a call to take place in a narcolepsy study at Hill House, a giant, sprawling estate secluded in the backcountry suburbs of Massachusetts. Upon her arrival, however, Nell quickly realizes that the study may be more than it claims to be. She discovers that Dr. Morrow isn’t studying insomnia—he’s studying fear. What’s worse, it appears that Nell and her fellow test subjects aren’t the only guests of Hill House.

Scare Factor: 2/5

Best Quote:“I don’t stay after dinner, not after it begins to get dark. I leave before dark comes. We live in town, nine miles, so there won’t be anyone around if you need help. We couldn’t even hear you in the night. No one could, no one lives any nearer than town. No one will come any nearer than that. In the night, in the dark…”

30. The Purge

Movie poster via IMDb

Before the ridiculous sequels, before the ludicrous franchising, there was just The Purge. A low-budget passion film, written and directed by James DeMonaco with one simple yet terrifying premise: one day a year, for twelve hours, all crime is legal. Theft, rape, murder—anything goes. As the Sandin family prepares for the annual Purge, Charlie, the youngest, spots a man crying for help out on the front lawn. The boy, sympathetic to the man’s plight, disables the security system and lets the stranger into their home. Soon after, the Sandins are surrounded by a gang of masked Purgers. Their leader vows that if the Sandins don’t release the group’s would-be victim, then they’ll come inside and take him from them.

Scare Factor: 1/5

Best Quote: “Here’s the plan, Sandins. You have until our provisions arrive, provisions which will help us break into your elegant home. If you don’t deliver him by the aforementioned time, we’ll release the beast on him…and on you.”

29. Frailty

Movie poster via IMDb

Frailty is the directorial debut of the late Bill Paxton and told through the eyes of Fenton Meiks (played by Matthew McConaughey). Late one night, after stealing an ambulance containing his brother’s body, Fenton confesses to F.B.I. Agent Doyle that his father and brother Adam are the infamous “God’s Hand” serial killers. As the two make the long drive back to Thurman, Fenton recalls in vivid detail how his father forced both he and Adam to be accomplices or “demon-slayers” in the gruesome murders that shook the area twenty-five years prior.

Scare Factor: 2/5

Best Quote: “Only demons should fear me. And you’re not a demon…are you?“

28. The Exorcist

Movie poster via IMDb

No proper Halloween Horror List would be complete without The Exorcist. Highly regarded as the scariest film of all time and the first horror film to receive an Oscar Nomination for Best Picture, The Exorcist is a demonic story of possession. Twelve-year-old Regan plays host to an evil spirit, intent on destruction and the corruption of her very soul. After getting nowhere with medical doctors, Regan’s mother turns to the Catholic church for answers. What she discovers is a battle of good versus evil, one that has waged on for over a thousand years.

Scare Factor: 3/5

Best Quote: “The power of Christ compels you!”

27. Final Destination

Movie poster via IMDb

Another example of a franchise getting out of hand, Final Destination was one of the most inventive films in the horror genre at the time of its release. The premise is simple: Death has a plan for us all. When it’s your time, it’s your time. There’s no way to cheat or alter the plan—or is there? Before his plane takes off, student Alex Browning has a violent premonition of his death. In a panic, Alex is escorted off the plane along with five of his classmates and teacher. Moments after takeoff, the plane explodes—just like Alex had envisioned. Shortly thereafter, Alex’s friends start dying in the most insane and seemingly inexplicable ways. Is it all a coincidence or has Death come back to finish what it started?

Scare Factor: 2/5

Best Quote:“In death, there are no accidents. No coincidences, no mishaps…and no escapes.”

26. Let Me In (2010)

Movie poster via IMDb

Arguably one of, if not the best, vampire film ever made, Let Me Inis a rare glimpse into the largely unexplored genre of horror/romance. Owen is a young boy, bullied and tormented by his fellow classmates. One night while out in the cold, he meets his new neighbor Abby and the two quickly become friends. There’s just one thing: Abby doesn’t go to school. In fact, Owen’s never seen her outside in the light of day. As he fights to discover the truth about Abby, Owen is pulled further and further into her world. A world wrapped in darkness, old as time, and driven by an unquenchable thirst for blood.

Scare Factor: 2/5

Best Quote: “Twelve. But…I’ve been twelve for a very long time.”

25. The Silence of the Lambs

Movie poster via IMDb

I know, I know, The Silence of the Lambs is not a horror movie in the traditional sense. But it is, without doubt, one of the greatest psychological crime thrillers ever made. The story follows up-and-coming F.B.I. agent Clarice Starling as she meets with famed serial murderer Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lector. In an attempt to solve a new slew of murders, Clarice must engage in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with Lector. The closer Clarice gets, the more susceptible to his influence she becomes. Can she stop a murder from happening without surrendering her mind to the brilliant psychopath?

Scare Factor: 3/5

Best Quote: “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.”

Be sure to check back next week as we unveil #’s 24-18. In the meantime, sweet dreams and Happy Halloween…